The World Health Organization is releasing $3 million to aid in the response of an outbreak of the deadly Marburg disease that was officially confirmed in Tanzania on Monday. This is in addition to the $50,000 the organization already released to support the investigation of suspected cases.
WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is currently in Tanzania, meeting with the government. Tedros said the country has scaled up its case detection of Marburg, set up treatment centers and a mobile laboratory, and has deployed national response teams.
Marburg is one of the deadliest pathogens to infect humans. The disease, which is similar to Ebola, infects people exposed to bats. It can then spread between humans through bodily fluids and can lead to hemorrhaging and death.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
